Monday, October 29, 2007

I could leave it at that. The delusion that they fit like a glove. I mean, I read all the comments about how Jaywalkers were often "too small" "knit the larger size" "go up a size in the needles" etc.

Well. Truth be told. Snowboard said it best this morning when he saw the finished pair this morning, "Isn't one of these way too wide?" Me, "Yeap." Him, "I would think you would know how to knit socks the right size by now." Smack (the sound of one handknit sock being tossed at Snowboarder!).

Its a bit hard to see above, but if you start at the toes and go up, you'll see just how wide the one sock is. And you'll also see how little yarn is left (well, that's what happens when you knit one sock WAYYYYYYY too big...you run out of yarn). And, I actually ripped out the first sock a bit (I didn't have the heart to reknit the entire foot, just about half of it) because it really was way too long in addition to being way to wide. For the second sock, I knit the leg on the larger needle (size 1, 2.5mm) and then the heel and foot on the smaller size (size 1, 2.25mm). The toe is a bit wonky due to the yarn shortage and really I think I should have knit the whole sock on the size 2.25mm.

So, for me, future Jaywalker notes (which I will knit again because I do love the pattern and love what it does with the STR), include...

If using lightweight STR, cast on larger size, but use size 1 (2.25 mm) needle for entire sock.

If using mediumweight STR, cast on smaller size, but use size 1 (2.5 mm) needle for entire sock (that's my guess I think).

Anyways, Disco, I hope your Jaywalkers are going well. I do love mine...especially the color! And I wore them all day and only had to pull up the one leg once in awhile...hehehe!!

Happy Halloweenie week!! Hoping to have one more finished pair of socks for Socktoberfest!! Thanks for all the comments about that cute Little Guy!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Better late than never. I figured it was worth the wait to capture this gorgeous yarn in the morning sun this morning.

If this doesn't make you crave pumpkin bread, or pumpkin pie, or pumpkin spice cake, well I don't know what will.

I'm not an orange girl by any means (those orange cable socks from a previous post are definately for Rowan). I don't own one piece of orange clothing I think. But oh. This yarn. Yummy. Love love love.

And since this is "The Pumpkin Edition" I just couldn't resist this picture that my SIL aka Little Guy's mom sent me earlier this week!

Little Guy's first trip to the pumpkin patch! And he's even wearing his pumpkin hat that Auntie Irishgirlie made for him. Wish we lived just a bit closer so that I could go to things like that with him, but you have to love his mommy who dresses him so cute, hat and all, and takes the cute pictures, AND sends them to me!

Back to my socks (got to get knitting if I'm going to finish these by the end of Socktoberfest!). Oh, speaking of socks. I've updated my destash flickr set to prepare for my upcoming visit to my friend Christy in Portland (oh, and my visit just happens to coincide with the BMFA Destashing Sale!!). Email me if you see anything that you're interested in (stuff that's been there awhile I marked down a bit, but would be willing to deal to get rid of it!). Email irishgirlieknits AT gmail DOT com

Thursday, October 25, 2007

If you haven't been reading my comments lately, then you may not have noticed that a friendly "Ghost" has been haunting my blog for the past few weeks. This "Ghost" is my Halloweenie Secret Pal from the Knittyboards and CBear could not have assigned this Irishgirlie a better secret pal! Why you ask? Well, my ghost lives in Ireland!! My ghost aka Lunasa sent me the best Halloween package ever!!

Rowan and I have already tried some of the fabulous Cadbury chocolates (we're saving the Irish chocolates for a special occassion of some sort) and as soon as I saw the shower gel I knew Rowan was going to try to go after it! No worries, that gorgeous white/cream colored yarn is Irish wool!! See, both times that I have been to Ireland, I had not yet caught my knitting bug so didn't bring any yarn back with me. My first yarn from Ireland!! Thank you thank you Yvonne!! I love it all (even the magazine...those are a fave!!) and I can't wait to use that gorgeous baby cashmerino too!!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

.... I kind of went to Berlin. Okay, not really. But LittleMy from the Knittyboards did and we did a swap when she went there and I went to Portland. Oh, the joy of knitty friends! Look what yarny goodness landed on my doorstep yesterday!

Love those gorgeous sock yarns, some of the chocolate yummies are already gone, and is that Naturwolle not me or what??

Brown and Pink. Perfect. Thanks Charlotte!!!

Now on to Blogstalking assignment #4 and #5. Topic this week....three things I love and three things I don't love. This blog is all about things I love....knitting, family, socks that rock, my doggies, friends, traveling, Notre Dame football (in no particular order of course!!). So here are a few other loves.1. Books. I love to read. I love a good independent bookstore too (my local favorite is Keplers).

This is just a sampling of my knitting books.

And my cookbooks collection rivals my knitting book collection. Although the Barefoot Contessa is probably one of my favorites! As you can tell here.

The current fiction book I'm reading is this. Thanks Disco for the recommendation!

2. I do love Diet Coke!

3. It was a toss-up between baked goods :) or a good crime drama on TV....and since its Tuesday night, Law & Order, wins out! Tonight its Law & Order SVU :) I love all of the Law & Orders, but I also love The Closer, Without a Trace. Good knitting tv.

Three things I don't love. Well, they don't deserve pictures in my book.

1. Household chores...all of them! Washing the dishes, laundry, etc.

2. Waking up early. Seriously. I do laugh that last year to make it to the day after Thanksgiving, 30% off at Purlescence Yarns, which started at 6am, I was out the door at 5:40am! My dad and Rowan were shocked. But since it was about yarn, they kind of weren't.

3. Ignorance.

Now on to Topic #5...A statue.

Not sure if this qualifies, but it'll do. Rowan has this Eiffel Tower in our living room and I do love it because it always makes me think of Paris and traveling and that is one of the things I love.

In knitting news, I'm celebrating Socktoberfest this week by working on two pairs of socks! I've finished one of each. Hopefully a finished pair sometime this week!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

This was the only thing I finished in Tahoe last weekend. A Notre Dame Football hat for Little Guy! Look how cute he is...TODAY...all ready for the Irish to beat the Trojans!!

These pictures, taken this morning two hours away, are courtesy of Little Guy's mom and dad...my SIL and brother! They rock!! And in the comments of the last Little Guy post (my brother reads ALL of them faithfully, even from Ireland when they were on vacation!) they each "picked" their blog names (SIL is Little Guy's mom and my brother...oh brother..."Boondock Saint"...oh goodness...).

Little guy loves trying to take his hats off now!

The pattern is from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan Anderson...love this book!

My favorite part of this hat.... I embroidered ND on the back!

And I couldn't resist putting this picture on the blog! Little Guy and ESPN Gameday...oh no!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Scarf that Rocks II Goes to the Lake! I took a WIP shot while at Lake Tahoe. Its about half-way done. I've been trying to keep this on the back burner and only take it out when I need some mindless knitting. I love how these colorways (Harlotty and Januaryone) are knitting up!

In other WIPs news, I'm almost done with Rowan's first sock....nothing too exciting. I also finished a cute hat for Little Guy, but I'll save those pics for the weekend (may or may not be able to convince my brother to email me a picture for the blog...if not, I have just the hat pic).

Blogstalking Assignment #3: Here to ThereSo how do I get from here to there..... in my Honda Pilot! I love my car, all 81,000 miles in 3 1/2 years too! Yeap, we drive everywhere here in California! One of the reasons why I got this car was for driving up to Reno to visit my grandma and great-aunts (from the bay area you have to go through the mountains and in the winter the 4WD comes in handy!). I took the long way home from Tahoe this weekend and visited my great-aunt...she's by herself now, but doing well. Here's my car outside her house (those are the Sierra-Nevada mountains in the background).

Although I do drive everywhere, there is one other here to there someone in my family does everyday...walking the doggies. See if they are staying with us (we share custody with dad, long story!), Rowan and I have just a tiny balcony at our condo. So, three times a day, those cute doggies get a walk...rain or shine! Early saturday mornings too. Often Rowan and I can be heard "negotiating" who is doing which walk!!

I couldn't resist showing a picture of that here to there....

Aren't they cute!! Back in the summer, dad made sure their "haircuts" were very short....and they still are :(

Monday, October 15, 2007

It was a crazy busy week last week both at work and at home. It always seems to be that way right before vacation, even if its just a mini-vacation. But it was all worth it!! I had a fabulous time here in Tahoe (still here, our condo that we rented actually has high speed internet?!! amazing!). Hot Mama and I have been friends since we were six!!! And I love her two kids to bits and her husband is fabulous!! We rented a condo at Lake Tahoe with a group of friends and their families for a long four day weekend and its the perfect fall getaway!! The weather has been perfectly crisp (65 degrees today)! The drive up was gorgeous. Just a fabulous, relaxing weekend! I even managed to get some knitting done :)

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Wrapping up a nice relaxing weekend here. The highlight of my weekend included this and finishing these.....

Watefalls...my Woolgirl Sock Club socks :) I love the yarn (Miss Babs Sportweight, color Waterfalls) and the pattern (Waterfalls). And they are also my first official finished socks for Socktoberfest!

I also knit up a few baby hats for the Trillian42'sHats for Alex project. She's so close to reaching her goal this year....you know you want to knit a few!!

And I know you have all been waiting to find out what my "purse guts" look like... Blogstalking Assignment #2!

I'll be honest, I did toss TONS of random papers, receipts, etc., before I took the photo. Let's see what we got....makeup bag, some bills to pay, 4 pens (although I can never find one when I need one), medicine (yeap, still on it from being sick), keys, breakfast-to-go, and the cutest wristlet ever! The wristlet serves as my purse whenever I can get away with it (e.g., when I don't have to go to work such as yesterday when I went to the farmer's market).

Assignment #3 coming soon... I even got my car washed this weekend just for you guys (actually, Snowboarder said it was getting pretty bad).

Friday, October 5, 2007

I don't think I ever finished telling you all about my weekend in Portland. Yes, there were cupcakes. And Socks that Rock. And the Flock and Fiber Festival. But before all that, there was Twisted. I flew in to Portland on Friday, but Christy (she has the cutest halloween bags for sale right now!) and her family wouldn't be home from Disneyland until late Friday night (which worked out because then I could do a mini local yarn store crawl). After hearing about Twisted all the time on Stacey's blog, I couldn't wait to go. It was fabulous!! I even stayed for movie night! My new favorite Portland yarn store! I'll definately stop by there every visit!

Now, on to the damage...I mean sock yarn....

Yarntini, sportweight is peeking out on the bottom, in the color....Twistini

All of those colors were so hard to resist! The sock yarn selection at Twisted is absolutely phenomenal!

And a Happy Friday picture! Little Guy woke up before I left Wednesday night and his mom had him model his cable sweater and hat! He just makes me smile to bits!!! I know I am a biased auntie!! But thanks for all the compliments!! Oh, and the guy in the Notre Dame picture is Little Guy's dad (aka The Brother or as my family calls him The Prince)...and when he gets back from Ireland I'll be sure to point out Jessica's and Disco's comments (it'll go straight to his head, of course!).

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Warning! Cuteness ahead!! This weekend I made the Little Pumpkin Hat from Itty Bitty Hats for the Little Guy! Here he is tonight trying it on!!

And taking it off!!

And since it is Socktoberfest, I thought I would show you my two sock WIP. On the left is my Woolgirl sock club sock, Waterfalls (that I'm hoping will be a birthday present for a certain someone if they get done soon). On the right is definately a sock not for me (the orange should give that away!). Rowan has been begging for me to cast on her cashmere socks from her yarn purchase in NYC. Other goals for Socktoberfest include at least one pair of socks for dad and hopefully a pair of monkeys or jaywalkers for me in STR! Socktoberfest marks the one year anniversary of when I learned to knit socks! The addiction has become a bit scary in just one year! What are you all working on for Socktoberfest?

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

So last week, Dad calls and says, "Hey, do you have an extra scarf handy?" (meaning, I need a gift) Dad knows he has kind of earned this right to request handknit scarves to give as gifts because he will often make "donations" to the stash (e.g., here's some money for yarn shopping). So here's my quick knit, fancy scarf, made from leftover gorgeous yarn (albeit difficult to photograph yarn) from the Wrap that Rocks.